# Is tap water safe to drink? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020 "2004-02-01T07:43:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020/21 "2004-02-02T10:43:43Z")
[hijack] > [@Princhester](#): > > That first world nations can provide _ **free** _ water supplies to their urban citizens of a purity that most humans throughout most of human history could only dream of is a testament to human intelligence. Does that mean that water is _free_ in the US? I had heard that from another source, but I didn’t believe it. After all, in a country where most people have to pay for basic medical service and university fees, I found it hard to believe that water would be given away for free. In all other countries that I have heard of it is metered in the same way as e.g. electricity or gas - albeit at a significantly lower price… For example, Where I live I pay about USD1 / m[sup]3[/sup] for cold water. And it’s very nice to drink as well… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020/22 "2004-02-02T10:54:00Z")
Depends where you live. If you’re next to the Hoover Dam, then water is unmetered. In other cases you have to pay for it. In all cases the cost is so negligable it might as well be free. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020/23 "2004-02-02T15:18:40Z")
You can get your water tested by a plumber or, as others have stated, by your local water authority. However, concerns about drinking water don’t seem too far-fetched—big news in DC this week is the high levels of lead in DC tap water. One of my neighbors’ lead reading came out to 322 parts per billion (the EPA lead limit is 15 parts per billion). Article: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64766-2004Jan30.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64766-2004Jan30.html) ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020/24 "2004-02-02T15:54:31Z")
> [@Popup](#): > > Does that mean that water is _free_ in the US? Not quite free - but in my area it’s unmetered. You pay a flat fee for the privilege of being hooked up to the public water and sewer lines, but then you can use as much as you want. I think industrial users have to pay for how much they use, though. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020/25 "2004-02-02T22:46:37Z")
> [@porkchop\_d\_clown](#): > > Not quite free - but in my area it’s unmetered. You pay a flat fee for the privilege of being hooked up to the public water and sewer lines, but then you can use as much as you want. > > I think industrial users have to pay for how much they use, though. I never knew there were places where water was unmetered. Must be a really good deal if you have a swimming pool or other reason to use a lot of water. Not that I’m really hurting from the water meter–my water bill is generally ~$5. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020/26 "2004-02-02T23:29:56Z")
> [@awldune](#): > > Not that I’m really hurting from the water meter–my water bill is generally ~$5. Good God, I’ll trade my flat rate unlimited supply water bill for your metered bill any day. It’s like a $30+ flat rate here… your $5 water bill doesn’t even cover the GST on my electricty bill. In Calgary (Canada) lots of older houses (including mine) don’t have meters, but this is coming to an end. I think all houses will have to be metered by 2012. This certainly isn’t a wet area, but there’s no shortage of water from the Bow/Elbow rivers. It’s just getting expensive to treat so much considering how fast the city is growing. And yes, it’s very good water. Calgary’s the home of (apparently) the largest indoor trout hatchery on the continent smack in the middle of town, and has an old brewery right beside that. Those are two industries that need very good water. ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020/27 "2004-02-03T00:45:42Z")
While I pay 80 cents per 1000 gallons of water, the stuff tastes and smells terrible. I filter it and it’s still pretty bad. I don’t know if that’s a consequence of where I live (austin) but it was a helluva lot better back home (suburban houston). I agree it’s downright stupid to pay the same amount for 12 oz of water, (and I don’t) but it’s not always for the wrong reasons. ---
**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020/28 "2004-02-03T01:03:39Z")
Water sure not free where I live. Like $3.50 a 1000 gal. And sewer charge is 2 X the water bill! Where we lived before we had to water the yard if you wanted grass for it never rained. Water bill ran over $100 a month in the summer. But now we have free water for the yard for we live on a lake. All it cost is a few dollars a month to run a 2 HP sprinkler pump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tap-water-safe-to-drink/227020.md?page=1)